Clash Royale Advanced Strategy Guide – Elixir/Card Counting

Ever wondered why somebody just seems to know the game? How can people win when you are least expecting it? Do you want to have absolute control over the game? Here are some assorted tips and tricks to help you gain the upper hand that are sorted starting from the basic strategy that many gamers know to more advanced ideas used by the top players of the game! This guide will be broken down into sections due to the fact that so much material is to be covered. This short post from Dreamz of MoEsport talks about various strategies for tracking Card Rotation and Elixir Counting.

Card Rotation Tracking Tips

Your cards rotate in a cycle, and getting the right cycle is essential for building a good push or countering your opponent effectively. Start memorizing your opponent’s cycle of cards as soon as the match starts. Specifically focus on memorizing their pushes, win conditions, and effective counters. If you can’t counter your opponent’s first push (ie. Balloon), try to adjust your card rotation so that it works best against theirs. Assign a card or two in your deck as counters to that specific push (ie. Mega Minion or Archers). Feel free to drop all other cards in your deck but put a mental “lock” on the designated counter, dropping it only when your opponent pushes with the specific card you seek to defend against.

Tracking your opponent’s card rotation is also extremely helpful offensively. If your opponent has used all of their counters to your push, you can force them to spend a lot of elixir in cycling back to their counters. Or, you can force them to drop another combination of counter-cards that give them an elixir disadvantage. Essentially, this is deliberately playing so that your opponent won’t have the right cards at the right time to counter your pushes. You might take a few hundred hp extra tower damage when you set this up, but it doesn’t matter if you can get a good push and take down a tower.

There is just one essential fact to remember for all card counting: Your opponent needs to play exactly four cards to cycle back to something that they just dropped.

Elixir Counting Tips

Elixir counting is critical to progress above 4600 trophies. To begin counting, keep a running count of how much more elixir you have than your opponent. At the beginning of the game or when the match “resets” (nobody is dropping any cards on the map), your opponent will usually wait until 10 elixir to drop something.

Using your own elixir bar to keep track of your opponent’s elixir bar is usually how people count elixir. To do this, keep a running count of your elixir advantage/disadvantage. For example, if you drop a Giant and Bowler push, your opponent counters with a Cannon and a Minion Horde, and then you drop a Zap, the mental count would look like this: -5, -5, +3, +5, -2. In the end, you will have a 4 elixir disadvantage. This strategy keeps you focused on making good trades while at the same time knowing your opponent’s elixir count.

Elixir Pumps can mess up your running count. If you decide to drop spells on an opposing Elixir Pump, the amount of elixir that is still generated is shown in the table below. To count with Elixir Pumps, add one elixir to your opponent’s total every time you see the pump fill up, which is every 8.5 seconds. If you decide to drop spells on an opposing Elixir Pump, the amount of elixir that is still generated is shown in the table below.

I’m collecting information for my next post: Specific offensive and defensive strategies (this will include a section on game mechanics). If there is anything you can not counter, leave a comment below!

Furthermore, I am gathering a list of questions to possibly ask the Clash Royale You-tuber, Chief Pat. If there is a question you want to ask, leave a comment with #AskPat below!